Join us Saturday, June 3rd at 6 pm for a most memorable experience. The Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy is honored to be hosting a Harlan Hubbard Art Show featuring paintings and woodcuts which have rarely been show in public. Harlan Hubbard is a nationally famous, award winning artist and Northern Kentucky native whose Fort Thomas art studio was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places. All artwork will be for sale with the proceeds benefiting the restoration of his art studio as well as the publication of a watercolor book of Hubbard’s works. Artwork is priced from $300 – $10,000.

Celebrate the Sesquicentennial with a CHALLENGE! Walk right off the sidewalks and into the beautiful forests of Fort Thomas! The Challenge: to hike ALL the Tower Park trails (as laid out on a map) in one day! Check-points will be located throughout the trail system where participants can stamp their maps and learn a bit about Fort Thomas history. Hikers who complete all the trails can return their stamped map and receive a badge of completion. (Not sure if you can hike the whole trail system? Don’t worry, just hike what you can.) This event will take place on Sunday, July 2 from 9:00 am until noon. There is a $20 entry fee per family that includes one t-shirt. Additional t-shirts can be purchased for $15 each. This event is sponsored by the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy and all proceeds will go toward furthering the mission of the Conservancy. Register by June 21 in order to receive the t-shirt. Download the Registration Form HERE. Or contact Trisha Schroeder at trident@fuse.net or 859-441-2661.

Sometimes the best things hide in plain sight. Take trees. Well, forests, actually. We seldom give them much thought because we are surrounded by them. But we need to do just that. And sometimes the same applies to people. The best hide in plain sight.

Posted on Fort Thomas Matters by Michele Pam Wright on October 7, 2016:

Hidden away behind a historical home is a small detached studio with an amazing story.

Sidney Thomas, the wife of the late Bill Thomas, owns the home and the surrounding property. She became concerned when she saw a swarm of bees going into the detached studio at the back of her property. Chuck Keller and Teresa Hill, friends and members of the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy, showed up and Chuck called in some experts….

Fort Thomas’ tag-line is “The City of Beautiful Homes” and is replete with historic, beautifully crafted and well-maintained, sprawling homes the walls of which, if they could talk, would tell tales often more beautiful than the home’s Victorian façade. The walls, however, are not the only storytellers and the façades not the only art that has graced this town; likewise, the best stories do not necessarily come from the most sprawling manors but sometimes originate from much smaller, much simpler homes or even one-room studios, much like that of famed artist and former Fort Thomas resident Harlan Hubbard …

We are delighted to announce the FTFC’s acquisition in November 2014 of a large tract of land in Fort Thomas. The Conservancy now owns 22-acres in the southern part of the city along River Road and has given it the name “River Road Preserve”. The former owner, Cincinnati’s Union Savings Bank, turned over deed to the property as a charitable donation. The donation included a cash endowment of $10,000 requested by the FTFC to help defray costs of boundary marking, securing and surveying the land. The transfer occurred on November 25th in the Fort Thomas law offices of McMurray and Luersen with Jim Luersen providing his services pro bono. Present were Mark Leopold, board member and chairman of our Land Protection and Stewardship Committee and Conservancy founder Bert Thomas, with current Chair, Teresa Hill, signing.

The property is zoned residential and has sweeping views of the Ohio River, plus it is adjacent to some of the area’s finest forests. There are no structures on the property, and it is a large flat area on top that provides such a beautiful panoramic vista. In late July, after several months doing its due diligence, the FTFC board approved the acquisition, allowing the deal to move forward.

“Composed mostly of scrub vegetation and invasive species and with some past stability issues, the land is not typical of the high quality forest land the Conservancy targets for preservation,” said board chair Teresa Hill, “But we believe it was the right move for us and for the community of Fort Thomas and […]

Update: We had amazingly good weather – perfect temperature, a nice breeze and lots of sun – and a great turnout for our sixth annual Conservancy picnic. The food provided by our volunteers was plentiful and delicious and the special pork cheek dish prepared by Virgil’s Cafe chef Matt Buschel really hit the spot. I cannot say enough about the great music provided by solo guitarist and singer Kyle English. It was truly superb and made this picnic our most festive ever. Of course, the wine tasting of local wineries arranged by Becki Ison helped immeasurably to liven things up. Thanks go to all our volunteers who helped out in many ways and especially to picnic organizers Lori Holladay, Stephanie Graves, Linda Rankin and their hardy fellow planners.

Join us Sunday September 21st for our 6th annual picnic. We are hosting the event at Tower Park under the shelter near the tennis courts. This year will be the best yet with great food, wine tasting and entertainment.

Also different this year is we are charging a small fee to be a part of this great day. Our members, or Friends of the Conservancy, pay just $5.00 for three hours of fun. The charge for non-members/guests is just $10.00. Pay here using the buttons below or pay when you enter.

Payment options: You can pay by cash or check at the event or pay in advance using Paypal or use Master, Visa or American Express:

Members: $5.00 each

Guests: $10.00 each

To celebrate our acquisition from the city of a conservation easement on approximately 6 acres on the edges of Rossford Park, we invite you to the second annual “A Day in the Park”.

It takes place Saturday, April 26 from 2:00 -5:00.

2 pm: Events start at 2:00 with a ribbon cutting representing the partnership between the City of Fort Thomas and the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy to protect and enhance the forests of Fort Thomas. This event will take place at the Rossford Shelter House.

2:30 pm: Board member Mark Leopold will lead a hike at 2:30 entitled, “Envision the Future”. This hike will walk the conservation easement and discuss what is there now and the plans the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy has to reforest and enhance this area.

2:30 – 5 pm: Learn how to plant a tree. We have 400 tree saplings to plant on the grassy hillside just down from the ball fields. If you are looking to get involved, don’t miss this day to learn about the many opportunities to volunteer in the future during our reforestation efforts at Rossford. Please wear hiking boots if you plan to attend the hike or help in the tree planting because it will likely be muddy.

2:30 – 5 pm: Many other family-friendly events will be going on during A Day in the Park.

Under the shelter house, there will be a beekeeper, representative from the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Department;

Our big news for 2014 (so far) is a donation by the City of Fort Thomas to the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy of a six-acre conservation easement on Rossford Park. On April 7th, 2014, the Fort Thomas city council voted to approve the easement, and the deed of easement was signed by Mayor Mary Brown and FTFC Chairman Bert Thomas shortly thereafter. Rossford Park under went major renovations a couple years ago to enhance recreational activities for everyone. During the reconstruction phase, the city invited the Conservancy to consider holding a conservation easement on portions of the park not included in the restoration. This area is in the northern fringes of the park and includes forest land, meadows and streams. We are currently developing a plan to revitalize those natural areas and will make the plan public as soon as it is ready. It will include stream restoration, reforestation, creation of wetlands, and controlling non-native invasive species. All of this will take lots of work and rely heavily on our volunteers. In a broader sense, the easement demonstrates the important partnership between the city and our volunteer organization and validates the Conservancy’s mission to protect the forests, the forested hillsides and remaining green spaces of Fort Thomas. We hope it will encourage land owners to consider working with the Conservancy to find ways to protect their land and be a part of this important conservation movement.

FTFC Wins Forestry Award

The Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy won the award for Outstanding Forestry Program for 2013. The award was presented by the Northern Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Council at the Council’s Trees in Our Community Forum and Annual Dinner on October 17th. This award is given to the local city or county administration, tree board or committee that has made outstanding accomplishments in completing urban forestry projects, provided exemplary tree care leadership, and made significant progress in meeting the goals of their local urban forestry program. In demonstration of our close working relationship and partnership with the City of Fort Thomas, the FTFC was nominated for this award by Ron Dill, the assistant city administrator. Conservancy volunteers worked hard in many aspects of urban forestry including tree planting in Rossford Park, revitalizing of the area around the Fort Thomas Museum in Tower park and honeysuckle eradication.

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Our Mission

The mission of the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy is to protect and conserve the natural areas that contribute to the vitality and unique character of Fort Thomas through land preservation, responsible stewardship, and the promotion of community awareness, understanding, and enjoyment for present and future generations.